Detroit Lions Weblog

Ryan Fitzpatrick, Final Roster Cuts, Team Needs

Rumors are flying hot and heavy that the Lions will seriously consider signing Rams QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, a Harvard graduate who was drafted by Mike Martz while he was Rams head coach, should he eventually be released by the Rams on Sept. 1st.   

Given Dan Orlovsky’s health issues and the less than stellar performance by J.T. O’Sullivan during the pre-season, I will not be a bit surprised to see the Lions searching high and low for an available QB with some NFL game experience, especially one who has some previous experience in Martz’s or a Martz-like, Sid Gillman/Ernie Zampese derived- (if such a beast exists) offense. 

If Orlovsky eventually starts the season on the P.U.P. list, it would allow the Lions to carry an extra QB through their bye week.  The Lions don’t appear to be too thrilled with Orlovsky’s performance at this point, so I would not be surprised to see him eventually be released, too.

Final roster cutdowns are tomorrow.   I am very curious to see if there will be any surprises among the final cuts.   Rex Tucker’s release was somewhat of a surprise, but there should be more to come.   Some potential surprise roster cuts could appear among the defensive line, linebackers, and secondary.   I think the final roster battles will be very heated among the offensive line and wide receivers, too.

The Lions still appear to have some glaring roster needs entering the season.   I would not be surprised to see them take a long look at adding a second-string QB (see above), some help in the secondary at both corner and safety, and potentially some help at Strongside LB, if someone of value becomes available. The prescient need for help in their pass rush also would seem to indicate that they would consider a solid, veteran DE, who is also a capable pass rusher, if one were to fall out of a tree and become available.

The Lions pre-season performance inspires little confidence  entering the 2007 season.   Considering the multiple 10 win pronouncements and general positivity among Lions players, this could make a disappointing performance this season become even more so, among Lions fans, since expectations have been set a little higher this season.  

Truthfully, I don’t honestly see a much improved team, even with the Lions poor pre-season performance set aside.   There are too many holes on defense and still not enough roster depth to overcome injuries at several critical positions.   The murky prognosis for Kevin Jones return also makes the Lions offense appear significantly less certain entering the season.

Kevin Jones to PUP List, Importance of Ground Attack

This news is not good.   Kevin Jones being placed on the PUP list is a major disappointment, if not an unsurprising development.  The Lions should err on the side of caution considering the severity of Jones’ foot injury, but it doesn’t lessen the blow to the Lions roster as the season approaches.  The Lions ground attack has struggled mightily during the pre-season, a situation that has not been aided much by Mike Martz’s poor playcalling thus far, in my opinion.

Jones is a consistent dual threat running/receiving option, which allows Mike Martz to expand the way in which he can exploit opposing defenses, a valuable trait that no one else on the current roster can consistently provide.   I think that one reason Martz has under-utilized the ground game this pre-season is the simple fact that the Lions can ill-afford to suffer any more injuries in that roster group.   That being said, the Lions lack of a ground attack is quite disconcerting, especially with how clear it has become that Jon Kitna absolutely can’t suffer any sort of injury if the Lions hope to enjoy any sort of success this season. 

If the Lions can’t establish a more consistent ground game, the Lions offense will continually operate out of second and third downs with long yardage to convert a first down.   This allows their opponents to pin their ears back and come after the Lions QB’s, or should I say Kitna and his succesor(s), if the Lions are unable to run the ball. 

Mike Martz’s offense demands a lot receiving options and usually utilizes multiple receivers, tight ends, h-backs and running backs in pass routes.   In other words, Kitna is usually only protected by his front five, a less than vaunted unit, and possibly a running back.   If teams know that Kitna will be vulnerable on a particular play, they will hope to get to him before he can throw the ball to his excellent receiving options.

Tatum Bell and T.J. Duckett can be effective, if utilized properly.  I have been impressed with Bell’s quickness and ability to dart through small running lanes.   Duckett has exhibited that he could potentially be an every down back in Martz’s offense, not just a situational option.   Bell will likely assume most of the regular load until Jones can return.   Duckett will be important in short-yardage, goal-line, and situations where the Lions are pinned back at their own goal line.   I think Duckett could be the type of back who can also eat up yardage and valuable game time as the Lions attempt to close out games with a lead.  

Since the Lions have ran the ball so infrequently, and ineffectively, it is very difficult to gauge whether either Duckett or Bell will execute on a consistent basis.   If Jon Kitna has to throw 50-60 passes a game, the Lions will be one of the most exciting 2-14 teams, with their starting QB on injured reserve, in NFL history.

The Lions released Rex Tucker, and a bunch of no-names, during their first roster cut-down.   Tucker’s release is a small surprise that hopefully eliminates the last vestige of Matt Millen’s poor track record of signing injury-prone, underachieving, and incompetent offensive linemen.

Lions Loss Disastrous in Indianapolis Pre-Season Game

Saturday evening’s pre-season game was one of the more pathetic exhibitions I have had to suffer through in my time as a Lion’s fan, which of course speaks volumes to how poor they actually played that evening.  The only positive I gleaned from this abominal 60 minutes of football was that Shaun McDonald looks like he will often thrive within this offense.   That’s it, and that may be me just being generous!

My paramount impression from this loss is that Jon Kitna absolutely can’t be injured during this season.    The Lions have no game ready backup QB’s on their current roster.  Their are no backup QB’s currently available, or who are going to soon become available, who can remedy this grievous oversight by the Lions front office.  

Journeymen QB J.T. O’Sullivan did plenty to prove to his many doubters that his NFL Europa experience and extensive seven team NFL pedigree are more a reflection of his inability to seize the opportunities that he has been given, rather than his possessing any latent upside that has been left untapped, throughout his intrepid career.  

O’Sullivan frequently telegraphed his passes and was unable to generate any sort of consistent offensive rhythm while helming the first string offense.  He did nothing to prove that he would ever be able to emerge gloriously from Mike Martz’s alchemical QB tutelage, which has previously nurtured from-out-of-nowhere talents like Kurt Warner and Marc Bulger.

The Lions defense didn’t acquit themselves well, either.  In their defense, they were on the field for far too long, due to the Lions poor offensive performance.   That being said, they had numerous opportunities to stop the Colts on third down, especially multiple third and long yardage situations, and failed to do so time after time.  

Peyton Manning was brilliant, efficient, and surgical in his dismantling of the Lions still nascent Cover-2 zone defense, which is beginning to resemble the hoped for, and unmet promise of,  the Lions unsucessful transition to the West Coast offense. (one immediate sign is that the Lions often resorted to using a zone blitz and man coverage to attempt to slow the Colts unstoppable offense)

The Lions also suffered from the litany of turnovers, penalties and missed tackles that have dogged them throughout recent seasons.   They did generate a semblance of a pass rush at times, something that they have often struggled to achieve, but overall the defensive line still wasn’t consistent enough in their execution to seriously impact either Peyton Manning or his backup, Jim Sorgi.

The Lions also are still unable to generate even a subtle hint of a consistent rushing attack.   The situation with Kevin Jones becomes even more perilous now that it is clear that they will desperately need what he can potentially provide for them when he’s healthy.   The Lions can ill-afford to rush Jones back from his severe foot injury, but they will be in a dire situation if he has to miss the first five games due to being placed on the physically unable to perform list. 

The combination of Tatum Bell, T.J. Duckett, Brian Calhoun, and Aveion Cason has been far from impressive.   I don’t believe that they have been utilized particularly well, either.   Martz’s maddening decision to run a sweep with T.J. Duckett during the second half on third down with one yard to go, still makes me shake my head in agony.  

Running the ball is clearly an afterthought within this offense, but one of the Colts clear weaknesses is that they are unable to stop a solid ground attack.    When it became clear in the second quarter that the Lions were in trouble, why not try and establish the ground game, score be damned.  If the Lions are eventually reduced to throwing 60 passes per game, Kitna will be injured by week 9.   It is clear after Saturday’s performance, what complexion the Lions season will take if Kitna misses any significant amount of playing time.

The worst news is that S Daniel Bullocks will likely miss this season, one which will be crucial to his future development, due to a knee injury.   The early prognosis would give that indication, at least.   Gerald Alexander and Idrees Bashir will be thrust into the lineup as Bullocks replacement in the interim.  That leaves the Lions looking for help both at backup QB and safety as they approach the beginning of the season. 

Bon Voyage, Eddie Drummond

The Lions veteran kick returner, and stalwart kickoff coverage man, Eddie Drummond was released yesterday.  Drummond, a former Pro Bowler, has experienced a decline in productivity during recent seasons and his inability to carve out a niche among the receivers playing group signaled his impending release.

The Lions apparently attempted to trade Drummond, but were able to find no takers.   The Lions chose to do the class thing organizationally, by releasing Drummond early, which will significantly increase his chances to potentially land with another team before the 53 man rosters are finalized. 

Drummond’s former responsibilities will likely be divided among players like Kevin Walters, Brian Calhoun, and Kevin Kasper, depending upon who stands out as the most versatile and productive during the remainder of the pre-season.

The Lions play the Colts tomorrow in their most significant pre-season game.   If there is a better gauge of what stage of development the team is currently residing at, I am unaware of what else there may be.  If the Lions first-string offense and defense acquit themselves well, and Peyton Manning does not throughly carve up their secondary, we can be encouraged about the season beginning in a couple of weeks.

Shaun “Big Baby” Rogers is Back, Orlovsky and Kitna Ailing

“Big Baby” Shaun Rogers has finally begun to practice with the team.  Hopefully, the extra conditioning and rehabilitation time he has been given will prove to have been useful.   Rogers, with the accumulated weight of this past year’s off-season troubles and his notoriously surly attitude, is a welcome, if not enigmatic, presence.  Rogers has a lot to prove and needs to shake the casual observer’s perception that he is lazy and has a poor attitude.  

Rogers is among the most gifted and talented athletes on the Lions roster.   If Rogers and Cory Redding can generate a consistent inside bull-rush, and Rogers consistently blows up the middle of the line of scrimmage and commands double and triple teams from opponents, the development of players like Kalimba Edwards, Ikaika-Alama Francis, and Corey Smith may be hastened.   The performance of the Lions defense, preeminently along it’s defensive front four, will be the major determining factor between a 6 and 10 win season, in my eyes.

Jon Kitna has missed recent practices due to back spasms and it’s unclear if Dan Orlovsky’s turf toe will impact his availability for his game against Indianapolis.   Kitna is probably going to play little, even though the third game serves as a dress rehearsal of sorts for the season, and therefore is the most important game of the pre-season. 

Orlovsky is embroiled with J.T. O’Sullivan in a battle for the second string QB job.   Most reports indicate that O’Sullivan is establishing a firmer grip on that role with each passing moment.   Orlovsky needs to establish that the Lions have held onto him for all of these years for a reason.

Charles Rogers is apparently about to find his calling.   He is rumored to have generated some interest among CFL teams.    If reports about his 4.8 second 40-yard dash time are true, it’s a miracle that the CFL even has an interest in the unemployed Rogers.    One thing is for certain, the tainted, embattled careers of players like Joey Harrington, C-Rog, and Mike Williams will not soon be forgotten among fans of the Lions.

Impressions of 2nd Lions Pre-Season Game, Eddie Drummond, Jeremiah Trotter and Lemar Marshall

In my conversations with various friends about the second Lions pre-season game, I have mentioned, in jest,  that the Browns and Lions set football back at least 10 years during Saturday night’s game.  With that being said, I don’t feel that either the Browns horrific performance during the first three quarters, and the flurried Brady Quinn-led comeback attempt against the Lions third and fourth string defense in the fourth quarter, can serve as strong indicators of where the Lions currently reside at this stage of the season.  I think that there are some encouraging signs to be gleaned, but next Thursday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts will give us a much stronger barometer of where the Lions are in their current stage of development.

The Lions were able to generate some turnovers, QB sacks, and big plays on defense Saturday, which is both very encouraging, and something they struggled to produce all of last season.   One still has to wonder, though, did the Lions force those big plays or were the Browns, clearly one of the worst franchises in the NFL, all-too-willing participants in their own demise?    It is clear, judging by the Browns offensive performance Saturday, that Brady Quinn better scale his NFL learning curve quickly, because Derek Anderson and Charlie Frye have tenuous grips, at best, on their future’s as NFL QB’s.

Their were some positives in the Lions performance Saturday.   Rookies like Ikaika Alama-Francis, Johnny Baldwin and Gerald Alexander have all acquitted themselves nicely early in the pre-season.   Shaun McDonald appears to be a force within Mike Martz’s offense and could be more productive as the Lion’s fourth option, than many of their previous second and third options at receiver during recent seasons.  McDonald also ensures that their will be very little drop off if the Lions receiver corps has to endure any major injuries, obviously a likelihood. 

Troy Walters is also making a strong case for being retained, especially given his experience as a kick returner, immediately jeopardizing Eddie Drummond’s future with the Lions.  Drummond is also excellent in kickoff coverage, which will way heavily upon his future value to the Lions organization.  Of late Drummond has been unable to match the productivity of his earlier his seasons, and although given the opportunity, never has distinguished himself on offense as a receiver.

I was encouraged by T.J. Duckett’s ability to bounce back from a disappointing first game and make a strong case for himself beyond just being a short-yardage, situational back.   Duckett exhibited good hands and was a beast in the open field when given the opportunity.    Duckett’s presence doesn’t restrict Martz’s playcalling as much as I would have originally thought, and may provide them with a player who can help salt away games in the fourth quarter while utilizing the plodding, ball-control type of attack that most teams enlist to eat up the game clock.

The Lions still struggle with their ground game, even considering Duckett’s effectiveness.   Besides developing a consistent pass rush, their is no other element of this team that bears more future importance, in my opinion.   I realize this will never be grind-it-out, black-n-blue-division (more like Noir and Bleu!) type-of football team under Martz’s direction.    I firmly believe that you can’t win close games in the NFL, which most games are in the modern, mediocre brand of game we are currently treated to, without a semblance of a consistent ground attack.

As a side note, What does everyone think about Frank Beckman and Erik Kramer as a broadcast team?   With Beckman’s barely containable man-crush for Cleveland’s Braylon Edwards, giving a whole new connotation to “Michigan Men”, and Kramer’s lack of proficiency with the English language, this may be one of the all-time worst television broadcast team’s.   I actually had to watch the game with the volume off, while I listened to the sycophantic Dan Miller and easily one of the most honest, and talented, color commentators in football, Jim Branstetter.

Jeremiah Trotter was released today by the Eagles.   I wonder if the Lions may have any interest in signing Trotter.   It is unlikely, since Trotter is more of an old-school, mauler type of MLB and may be unable to, or quick enough, cover the deep middle of the Tampa-Two defense, which is it’s soft spot.   Trotter would provide the Lions with valuable experience and could be utilized during short-yardage and goal line situations. 

The release of the Redskins LeMar Marshall also provides the Lions with another intriguing option.   Marshall is an undersized linebacker who may be able to flourish in the Tampa-Two defense.  He is athletic and versatile enough that he could also press for time on the strong side.   I believe that the Lions need to consider all possibilities with their linebacking corps since it has been dogged by injury, inexperience and poor play during recent seasons.

Mike O’Hara’s 08/14 Detroit News Article About Lions Training Camp

Mike O’Hara’s article yesterday, “Job Competition Largely Lacking..”, was about the lack of serious positional battles, at least for starting jobs, in this year’s Lions training camp.  O’Hara believes that the battle waged between J.T. O’Sullivan and Dan Orlovsky will be the most intense to occur in Allen Park this year.

Had Kevin Jones been healthy entering the season, the battle between Jones and the newly-acquired Tatum Bell would be epic.   Apparently, Bell’s recent public pronouncement that he would be the starter this season didn’t set well with Jones.   Each players’ competitiveness and strong desire to be the lead back could help the Lions ground attack immensely this year.   Furthermore, allowing Mike Martz to have more bullets for his holster can only help the Lions offense perform better than last year.

In regards to Orlovsky and O’Sullivan, the dynamic “Duel-O’s” if you will (Sorry, can’t help myself), their battle can only help especially, if Jon Kitna were to become injured or play ineffectively.   Martz has worked wonders with former NFL Europa players in the past, which makes O’Sullivan a player who bears monitoring.

Rod Marinelli stated that the real battle in Allen Park is for the last 12 or 13 roster spots, where players have to demonstrate their utility by demonstrating that they can play multiple positions and provide the team with quality roster depth.   These players really have to work hard to demonstrate their value, Marinelli says that “It’s not the most talented players.  It’s the best 53 who help us win.”

Between now and Sept. 1st, the Lions will feature some serious battles for the lower segment of their depth chart.

Here are the ones that I regard as most important:

Tailback: In the event that Kevin Jones is placed on the PUP list, Brian Calhoun,  journeymen Aveion Cason, and T.J. Duckett need to establish who is capable of dividing the reps with Bell, a player who has never been capable of carrying the full workload during his brief career.   Calhoun needs to prove he was worth utilizing a third round draft pick for in ‘06.

The Offensive Line:  The starting five appear to be set with Raiola, Woody, Mulitalo, Backus and Foster at the helm.   This should upgrade a weak unit that weathered heavy injuries last season and allowed 63 QB sacks.  That being said, Mulitalo is no spring chicken and players like Stephen Peterman, Frank Davis, Jonathan Scott, and Manny Ramirez all have exhibited some promise.   Versatile vets like Blaine Saipia and Barry Stokes are also quite valuable.  Ramirez may be a practice squad candidate, but he could also get plucked by another team, causing the Lions to be afraid of making him available to other franchises.  The four players who eventually will be kept will wage a heavy battle to remain.   Is Damien Woody Dom Raiola’s emergency backup at center?

Defensive Line: This unit needs to make the biggest leap performance-wise this season.   The front four of Edwards, Rogers, Redding and White appears set.   The Lions are high on Ikaika Alama-Francis, which leaves Corey Smith, Langston Moore, the apparent front-runners, along with Jared DeVries, Claude Harriott, Shaun Cody and Cleveland Pinkney to fight for the remaining three spots.   Shaun Cody, in particular, needs to make a bold statement since word is that he has not had that good of a camp.   My primary concern still rests with Kalimba “The Ghost” Edwards.   There is no proven pass rusher on the roster to displace Edwards if he continues to be ineffective.

Linebackers: This is an enigmatic bunch.   Ernie Sims is firmly entrenched, but how strong is the grip that Boss Bailey and Paris Lenon have on their starting jobs.   Can players like Johnny Baldwin, Anthony Cannon, Alex Lewis, Teddy “China Doll” Lehman and Donte Curry exert pressure for playing time.  This unit will eventually be slimmed to six, and personally, I would keep Cannon and Baldwin considering their high ceiling as players.

The Secondary:  Considering the checkered injury histories of both Travis Fisher and Fernando Bryant, the remaining CB’s on the final roster likely will figure heavily for the Lions.   Keith Smith and Stanley Wilson, Jr. appear to be roster locks, but A.J. Davis and Ramzee Robinson appear to both have made strong cases, too.  The starters appear to be Bryant, Wilson, Jr., Kenoy Kennedy, and Daniel Bullocks.   Gerald Alexander will make the team, and Idrees Bahir has made a strong case for himself.  The Lions will keep nine defensive backs, but don’t be surprised that if a veteran cornerback should eventually become available on Sept 1st, that the Lions don’t at least take a look.  The trade of Dre Bly could loom large if the secondary exposed this season.

Lions Promise to Feature High-Powered Offense

After last week’s first pre-season victory, one thing is certain, the Lions, if they are able to remain relatively injury-free, will boast one of the more high-powered offenses in the NFL this season.  

There should be no games that they are entirely out of, especially under the guiding hand of Offensive Guru Mike Martz.   This current Lion offense provides match-up difficulties hitherto unseen in recent team history.   For example, the miscommunication/blown coverage by the Bengals safeties that lead to Shaun McDonald’s long catch for a touchdown.    The very presence of Calvin Johnson on the field during that play was the catalyst for McDonald having nothing but green in front of him when he caught the ball.  The Bengals safeties were so fixated on Johnson that they completely lost track of McDonald streaking down the middle of the field and splitting the safeties for his big score.

The stress that opposing secondaries will feel when the Lions are in their 3 and 4 wide receiver formations, especially with Roy Williams and Johnson both on the field at the same time, will be formidable.    What do you do as an opposing defense?  You may choose to play in nickel and dime coverage packages with a spread field, allowing the Lions to gash you repeatedly with running plays.   You may choose to blitz, in which case you have exposed your defensive backfield critically. If the Lions offensive line can provide even nominal protection, keeping Jon Kitna out of harm’s way, the sky will be the limit for them.

The Lions comeback last week was no small feat, even if it was against the Bengals third and fourth string defenders.   The poise of Dan Orlowsky, along with a rag-tag cadre of veteran receivers, who admittedly will struggle to make the final roster, in players like Kevin Kasper, Troy Walters, and Edell Shepherd, exemplifies what the Lions offense may be capable of with another season of experience under the tutelage of the enigmatic Martz.

Martz has his eccentricities, that’s for certain.   Being a midwestern football fan, I would like to see a little more of a conventional ground attack in place.    As imaginative as Martz is with devising his offensive plays, he seems to simply stick to with draws, misdirections, and dive plays while rushing the ball within the Lions multi-receiver, single-back sets.  Martz’s imagination seems to be somewhat lacking when it comes to running the ball, even if he utilizes different formations and personnel packages when choosing to run.

Martz will have a wider palette to paint with season, though.   The two-headed attack of Tatum Bell and Kevin Jones should flourish, once Jones is healthy.   Having T.J. Duckett, if he holds onto the football, will give the Lions a back who should convert frequently in short yardage situations and be effective in the red zone, an area where they often failed miserably last season.

Early indications from Calvin Johnson give the appearance that he will have a Reggie Bush-like impact for the Lions.   Players of his “skill set” and football “make-up” don’t come along often, and their may be no better offensive coach to utilize his talents than Martz.   If Johnson’s development continues at it’s current pace, the Lions may actually be able to match Roy Williams’ bold predictions of scoring forty points per game.    Whether or not the defense can prevent teams from scoring forty-one points per game remains to be seen, though.

Lions Unimpressive in 1st Pre-Season Game, Yet Still Find Victory

I attended last night’s Lions pre-season game versus the Bengals.   One impression that is awfully hard for me to shake is just how unimpressive the Lions 1st team looked on both offense and defense in their limited playing time.  

Watching my first football of the year, live and in person, was admittedly disorienting upon arrival.   Once I got my bearings, I realized these things:

1) The Lions pass rush still appears to be non-existent.   Carson Palmer would have lit them up had been able to play more of the game.   Shaun Rogers and DeWayne White were absent due to injury, but the Lions D-Line still was unimpressive.

2) The Lions will struggle to have a running attack if Mike Martz doesn’t attempt to establish it more.   That being said, the running backs did not seem to have much running room the few times that they carried the ball.  The Lions offensive line could eventually become better, but last night didn’t change my opinion about whether or not they have improved from last season.

One thing you may forget in the 6 long months without football, is how bad teams often can look in their first pre-season game.   There were a number of times where both teams appeared unorganized and exhibited sloppy play.   Each week, a bit of that gets cleaned up, as the players develop cohesiveness and regain game shape.  

Although it is difficult to suffer through multiple offensive drives that are flat, watch numerous missed tackles on defense, and see plays where clearly there was some sort of problem in communication, which leads to poor execution, yet, we have to remind ourselves that this is all part of the process and refrain from making too many quick assumptions about what we have seen.

However, Calvin Johnson’s two catches brought some electricity to the game.    In particular, his jump ball catch over an over-matched Bengals DB was particularly scintillating.   Johnson looked so fluid that the catch appeared effortless.   Hopefully, that is a sign of things to come.

The 5000 remaining fans who watched the Lions fourth quarter comeback were given a nice reward for their patience.   It was fun to watch both of the teams third and fourth strings battle it out until the end of regulation.   The miniature Ford Field crowd was surprisingly loud as the Lions mounted their unexpected comeback.   The maddening mini-throng got even louder when the Bengals were driving the ball during their last possession, hoping to spur their Lions towards victory. The Lions sideline celebration after Shayne Graham’s missed field goal reflected that this game was not entirely meaningless, especially in the manner in which they fought back to win in front of the home crowd. 

The recent reports indicating that Kevin Jones will be on the Physically Unable to Perform list entering the season were a little disappointing.   The potential tandem of Kevin Jones and Tatum Bell, battling it out to establish their role as featured back in the Lions offense, is an intriguing one, in which each individual party has publicly expressed confidence that they would in fact be the lead horse when the season begins.    Jones will now miss 6 weeks, which places a great deal of pressure upon Tatum Bell to solely carry the load, something he has never done throughout his playing career.  Jones exhibited a lot of promise within Martz’s offense last season, hopefully this delay does little to forestall his continued development.

The Detroit News Mike O’Hara posited an interesting question yesterday in his Friday column, now that Charlie Sanders has been inducted in Canton, who will be the next Lion to be enshrined?  He mentioned that Dick LeBeau will likely get a long look from the veteran’s committee next season.   Many would suggest that Calvin Johnson has the type of athleticism and passion to eventually achieve such a great honor.   Over the last 25 years, has any player in a Lions uniform, not named Barry Sanders, earned the right for legitimate consideration?

Questions Entering Thursday’s 1st Pre-Season Game?

William Clay Ford will roll out the 2007 model of his rich man’s folly on Thursday.  The Lions, much like Ford’s ailing automobile company, have languished of late, but many prognosticators believe that the Lions could potentially emerge as one of the surprise teams of the NFL this season.  

With that in mind, I believe that the Lions are still lacking clarity at a number of important roster positions.   Thursday will be many Lions fan’s first opportunity to see who will be involved in the Lions attempt to address these important roster issues.

1) Will the Lions have a consistent pass rush?  Among DeWayne White and Kalimba”The Ghost” Edwards, a consistent pass rush has to develop for the Lions this season.

2) Linebackers outside of WLB Ernie Sims.   Boss Bailey, Teddy “China Doll” Lehman,  and Alex Lewis all have had checkered injury histories.   Will Paris Lenon really be the answer in the middle? Can Anthony Cannon Or Johnny Baldwin help out at all.

3) The Secondary:  Trading Dre Bly will either appear brilliant, or will be regarded as a first rate disaster.  With injury-prone Fernando Bryant and Travis Fisher, coupled with inexperienced players like Keith Smith, Stanley Wilson, Jr., A.J. Davis and Ramzee Robinson, the Lions could be headed for a difficult season at cornerback.  Will Daniel Bulllocks prove he was worthy of a second round draft pick in ‘06?

4) Offensive Line:  This unit looks a lot better on paper, than last year’s O-Line.  It really couldn’t be worse, though.  The Lions O-Line needs to at least halve the 63 sacks it allowed last season, if Jon Kitna is going to flourish in Mike Martz’s offense this season.  Will Edwin Mulitalo and George Foster emerge as a solid, dependable players or will they play ineptly like such memorable recent also-rans as Brendan Stai, Ross Verba , and Rich DeMulling, all big disappointments, that we consistently have been subjected to throughout recent team history.

5) Calvin Johnson has come to Detroit with a near-flawless pedigree.  Expectations will be incredibly high, and Lions fans will become petulant if he struggles at all.  If he begins to resemble colossal busts like Charles Rogers or Mike Williams, the whole state of Michigan might be permanently placed on suicide watch. 

6) Tight End:  Dan Campbell had an impressive season last year.   Beyond Campbell, the Lions are still searching for a player who can make his catches, block like a linemen and be versatile enough to play a hybrid role which includes playing FB and H-Back.  Darnell Sanders has been impressive early.

7) Backup Qb: With Drew Stanton on injured reserve, the Lions will resist the urge to replace Kitna if the team falters.   That being said, if Kitna were injured, neither Dan Orlovsky or J.T. O’Sullivan provides the team with much proven experience.    Kitna, who was already one of the more valuable members of the team, becomes exponentially more valuable due to the lack of experience that the Lions backups posess.

My favorite aspect of the pre-season is finding those few underdog players who are impressive enough during the pre-season that they develop a cult following among Lions fans, who are often impressed by the pluck and effort exhibited by a player who emerges from nowhere with solid performance.